Machon Meir

Machon Meir (Hebrew: מכון מאיר) is a Religious Zionist yeshiva and Jewish outreach organization in Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem. Founded in 1974 by Rabbi Dov Bigon following the Yom Kippur War, it became an early institution in the Religious Zionist teshuva movement. Its activities include a men's yeshiva, Hebrew-language instruction, conversion preparation, the Machon Ora women's seminary, and the Arutz Meir educational media platform. History Machon Meir was founded in Jerusalem in 1974, following the Yom Kippur War (1973), by Rabbi Dov Bigon, who had studied for over a decade at Mercaz HaRav under Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. Bigon established the institute after consulting with Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook and Rabbi Haim Druckman. It was named in memory of Eliezer Meir Lifshitz, a paratrooper reservist who was killed in the war. It was one of the Religious Zionist educational initiatives that developed after the war—a Torah-study institution shaped by the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and oriented especially toward chozrim b'teshuva (Jews returning to religious observance) from Israel and the diaspora. Asaf Sharabi identifies the establishment of Machon Meir in the 1970s as an important early development in the rise of the Religious-Zionist teshuva movement. Educational approach The yeshiva primarily serves students with limited prior Jewish education and provides Hebrew-language instruction alongside its Torah study courses. Machon Meir encourages eligible students to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and to integrate into Israeli society. The institute provides personal guidance tailored to its students' different educational backgrounds. Educational activities seek to connect classroom Torah study with the land and history of Israel through trips to natural, biblical, and archaeological sites. Hebrew study and interaction with Israeli students are intended to help students integrate into Israeli society. Leadership and faculty Machon Meir is headed by its founder, Rabbi Dov Bigon. Longtime faculty include Rabbi Oury Amos Cherki, a lecturer at the institute, and former Soviet refusenik and Prisoner of Zion Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch, who has worked there for more than three decades. Rabbi Menachem Listman has taught at Machon Meir for several decades and serves as director of the English Speakers Department. Rabbi Kenneth Cohen previously headed the department and teaches and counsels students. Rabbi David Partouche headed the institute's French department and remains the listed contact for its French-language program. Programs Men's yeshiva In Jerusalem, the Machon Meir yeshiva offers full-time study programs for young Jewish men of various backgrounds and levels of knowledge. Machon Meir is multilingual, with students speaking Spanish, French, English, and Hebrew. Areas of study include Hebrew Bible, Talmud, the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, musar, and Jewish philosophy, and the program also includes Hebrew ulpan studies. Machon Meir's Ulpan Meir is a men-only Hebrew ulpan offered four afternoons a week. Women's seminary (Machon Ora) Machon Ora is a Jerusalem-based women's seminary associated with Machon Meir. Its educational outlook is influenced by the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Serving women from a range of religious backgrounds, it offers studies in Jewish thought, halakha, Tanakh, ethics, and preparation for Jewish family life. Its programs include full-year study, additional study frameworks, and one-day seminars. Conversion program In 2018, Machon Meir operated a private conversion-preparation institute primarily in Jerusalem. Established approximately thirty years earlier, the institute accompanied about 100 students annually who appeared before conversion courts. Funding Machon Meir is operated by the registered nonprofit association Machon Meir—The Center for Jewish Studies in Israel. The association reported an annual turnover of approximately ₪28 million in 2024 and received approximately ₪10.1 million in government support and contracts over the preceding three years. Government support has included funding under a conversion-support program. Masa Israel lists a price of US$12,500 for its 2026–2027 Machon Meir and Machon Ora sessions and notes that program prices are calculated before any Masa grant or scholarship is applied. Media and online resources Machon Meir established Arutz Meir around 2004 as an internet television channel. It streamed live classes from the institute and maintained an archive of more than 10,000 video lessons in Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, and Russian. Arutz Meir received the Israeli Ministry of Education's Agrest Prize for Jewish Culture in 2010. The award committee cited its production of programs on Jewish subjects, dissemination of the heritage of the Torah and the Land of Israel, and contribution to Religious-Zionist media. Arutz Meir also operates Arutz Meir Kids, an online children's channel. In 2011, it launched a Passover series for children in English. References Bibliography External links Official Machon Meir English Department website